Defining Core Values: A Pathway to Commitment

When Toyota set out to codify “The Toyota Way,” they spent months sifting through stories and speeches and significant events. The deeper they dug, the broader and more nebulous the critical success factors became. It went far beyond the Toyota Production System, far deeper than their widely studied lean methods. Finally, they arrived at two (yes, only two) core values: continuous improvement and respect for people. Every system, every product, every decision, every success the organization ever had could be traced to these two deep but vague principles. In Toyota’s world, the more vague and deep, the better, because it enables all employees to interpret the meaning in their own way.

Toyota realized that the goal was not to induce adherence to a creed but to encourage a forum for dialogue, discussion, and discovery—the end result of which would be a profound connection to the mission. We then conducted small cohort workshops at all levels of the organization, centered first on putting individuals in touch with their own values, then on showing how these values had contributed to Toyota’s success, and finally how people’s personal values aligned to the company’s. These discussions concluded with uniquely personal commitments to furthering The Toyota Way. In effect, each individual became a keeper of the collective flame.

When I work with companies to create or reimagine their unique Tao, or way, I begin with core values, using an approach based on what we did at Toyota. It is effective: first, because it allows individuals some focused time to get in touch with the personal values that they bring to work, and second, because it allows individual values to be the basis for the corporate core values.

Step 1

First, have as many people as the senior leadership team deems appropriate complete the Values Finder exercise, which you can download here.?

Step 2

Form a small task force, what might be called an “advance team”…a handful of exemplary or evangelist operators hypothetically tasked with establishing an entirely new office headquarters in an entirely different country with an entirely new workforce and embedding the best and most unique qualities of your company.

Step 3

The advance team draws on the 12-15 values with the highest Top Five scores from the Values Finder input, and evaluates each against these criteria:

• Would you rather be let go than give up or compromise this value?
• If circumstances change tomorrow and you are penalized in some way for holding this core value, would you still keep it?
• A generation from now, will this core value be as valid as it is today?
• If this core value actually becomes a competitive disadvantage, would you still hold it as a core value?
• If you were to start a new team or organization tomorrow in a completely different line of work and industry, would you build this core value into the new organization?

Step 4

The advance team narrows the values to those receiving 100% “yes” assessments. By now there should be three to five core values. Don’t discard the values that don’t make the cut, because they are obviously of some significance. Build strategies or operating practices around them!

Step 5

The final step is to decide what form the core values should take. I suggest drafting unique, declarative, and company-relevant statements about each to present to senior leadership for final wording and distribution. These can take the form of single words, phrases or short descriptions and explanations, for example:

Passion For Performance — We are a mission-driven team, where winning means consistently achieving the best outcomes possible.

Progress Over Perfection — We are laser-focused on the future and constantly moving toward the horizon...roughly right trumps nothing wrong.

Pursuing What's Possible — What appears to be impossible never is; big ideas, lab-like curiosity, and an explorer's courage fuel our growth and feed our adventuresome spirit.

Proactivity With Purpose — We encourage freedom to act boldly in alignment with, and constrained only by, our mission.

Over time, defining values in this manner not only helps to create higher levels of employee commitment, engagement, and esprit de corps but also to counter the sometimes stressful forces of organizational life.

The diversity of values within teams and organizations can be wide. To work better as a team and make decisions that lead to commitment and action, it’s necessary to recognize the values that can influence decision-making. When personal values are aligned with those of the team and organization, individuals will feel that they are making a worthwhile contribution and that they “belong.”

Once company and team values are understood, the task is to align and practice values at the different levels. The simple matrix below shows the broader framework against which a values-centered approach can be applied.

Understanding, aligning, and leveraging values—at the individual, team, and company levels— provides a clear pathway for higher performance.